Dividing strip



H. L. FINK DIVIDING STRIP Nov. 10, 1936.

y R m 8 1 w 1. z w m M m 7 Ill 0 a 5 L I W 6 H E lul lrllllllrll V Filed Nov. 16, 1952 Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to dividing strips of the character ordinarily used in laying terrazzo floors. The main purpose of the strips is to subdivide the terrazzo into relatively small panels,

5 the subdivision localizing the effects of expansion and contraction at the dividing strips and thereby preventing the formation of unsightly cracks.

The manufacture of dividing strips is a highly competitive business and, therefore, it is of the 10 utmost commercial importance to have a strip structure which can be manufactured at a very low cost. Many of the types of strips which have heretofore been proposed are difficult, slow, and/or expensive to fabricate; and also many of 15 them are exceedingly diflicult to fabricate without forming waves or kinks in the strip which render it unfit for commercial use.

An object of the present invention is to provide a strip which can be quickly and inexpen- 20 sively fabricated at low cost.

- Another object of the invention is to provide a strip construction which economizes on fabricating tools and in stock which must be carried on hand; this being accomplished through a two g5 part strip in which most of the work is performed on a separate base section, the same base section being adapted to be used in a wide range of finished strips which will produce a wide range of different widths and/or colors of dividing lines 3 at the surface of the finished floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dividing strip of a construction which produces a straight kink free strip without the exercise of special care in manufacture of the strip.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one specific form of the invention.

.Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 40 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second specific form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

45 Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a third specific form of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on the line 'I-l of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical view corre- 50 sponding to Fig. '7 but showing the strip in an intermediate stage of assembly.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 7, but showing a heavy top section assembled upon the base section of Figs. 6 and 7. p

55 Figs. 10, 11, and 12 are vertical sections similar to Fig. 2 but showing various heavy top sections assembled on the base section of Figs. 1 and 2.

Figs. 13, 14, and 15 are vertical sections of strips of the form shown in Fig. 4, but with various heavy top sections assembled upon the base 5 section of Fig. 4.

Reference will now be had to Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The strip comprises an upper section, designated as a whole by I, which consists merely of a plane strip of metal or other material; and a lower section designated as a whole by 2. The upper part of the lower section 2 is stamped, rolled, or otherwise offset at 3 to form a rabbet; and the upper edge of the lower section is interrupted by spaces 4 from which the metal has been cut out and projected laterally to form horizontal wings 5 at the base of the rabbet. The upper and lower sections are assembled with the lower portion of the upper section positioned in the rabbet, the lower edge of the upper section lying in contact with the bottom of the rabbet and with the topsurfaces of the wings 5. The two sections are provided with holes which register when the strip is assembled, these holes being either drilled or punched, preferably prior to the assembling of the two sections. Through these holes are placed rivets 6, by which the two sections are permanently secured together.

Reference will now be had to Fig. 4. A lower section, designated as a whole by ID, consists of a strip which is perfectly plane except for wings I I which are struck out from metal that initially extend downwardly from the upper edge of the lower section. A plane top section, designated as a whole by I3, is assembled in telescopic relation to the lower section with overlapping portions of the two sections lying in face-to-face contact, the upper surfaces of the wings ll serving to position the lower edge of the upper section. The two sections are permanently secured together by suitable means such as rivets I4.

Reference will now be had to Figs. 6, 7 and 8.

A bottom section I5 has cut-out areas Hi from which the metal has been projected laterally to form horizontal wings ll. Alternate upwardly extending portions 18 are offset laterally to form at l9 a rabbet similar to the rabbet of Figs. 1 and 2. Intermediate upwardly extending portions l8 (one shown) are left in the original plane of section l5. A plane upper section 20 is telescopically applied to the lower section, as shown. To permit easy assembly the upwardly extending portions 18 and l8 may be initially diverging as shown in Fig. 8. The portions I8 and l8 may then be firmly pressed against the upper section 28 and indentations formed as at 2i and 22, which firmly lock the two sections together.

If the lower section be made of sufiiciently springy and resilient material, and if the upper section be suficiently rigid, the portions l8 and i8 may be completely formed before assembly of the two sections. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 9 where the top bar 20 is heavy and is provided with longitudinally extending grooves on its sides. In assembling, the top bar is forced into place, the portions [8 and l8 yielding and the projections 2i and 22 thereafter snapping into the grooves of the top bar.

For some ornamental effects wide dividing lines 72; inch or even inch wide) are desired in the floor, and in some cases it is desired that these lines be formed by relatively expensive material such as bronze, german silver, other white alloys, etc. If the entire strip were made this thick, even if made of brass, the cost would be prohibitive. Furthermore, it is diflicult or even impossible to satisfactorily punch anchoring means from such thick material. Anchoring means, such as applicants wings, are needed, as is well understood in the art, to anchor the strip in the floor; and these wings also serve as a depth gage for the finished coat, as is also well understood in the art.

It will be apparent that with applicants strip, only the top section need be of heavy and/or expensive material, no matter what width or nature of dividing lines be desired in the floor surface. The bottom section may be made of quite thin material (which is easily stamped) because it is reenforced and stiifened by the top section. In this connection it may be noted that in the preferred embodiment disclosed, the stamping out of the wings weakens the lower section only in the upper portion thereof where the lower section is completely reenforced by the upper section. Furthermore applicants stamping of wings does not involve any stretching of the metal and involves severance only along the vertical lines which extend downwardly from the upper edge of the bottom section. Thus the stamping is of a nature which can be performed with the greatest of ease and without danger of distorting or kinking the metal. It will be seen that a striplike top member of any desired lateral thickness and/or of any suitable cross sectional configuration may be assembled on the bottom sections of Figs. 1 and 4.

In Fig. 10, I have shown a laterally thick or heavy top member l of rectangular cross section assembled on a bottom section 2 of the form shown in Fig. l. A rabbeted or L-shaped heavy top member may also be used, the overhang of the top member extending in either direction. In Fig. 11, I have shown such construction with the overhang of the top member l extending opposite to the anchoring wings of the bottom section 2. In Fig. 12, I have shown a double rabbeted or T-shaped top section I assembled on the bottom section 2.

Similarly heavy top members of rectangular, T-shaped, or L-shaped cross section may be assembled on the bottom section ll] of Fig. 4. A rectangular heavy top l3 is shown in Fig. 13, an L-shaped heavy top l3 in Fig. 14, and a T-shaped heavy top member |3 in Fig. 15. Where an L-shaped heavy top is used it may, of course, be faced in either direction.

Brass is a suitable metal for the bottom sections of any of the forms of the invention disclosed, but cheaper metals such as tinned or galvanized iron or steel may also be used. Zinc is particularly well adapted for lower sections of the forms shown in Figs. 1, 4, 9 and 10, because it is rustproof and inexpensive, and the construction is such that a material of great mechanical strength is not necessary. For the top section, I use any material desired by architects which may include brass, bronze, white metal, german silver, hard rubber, vulcanized fiber, and phenol condensation products such as bakelite. The bulk of the fabricating work is done on the base section; and when an order is received for a special strip, I can quickly supply it by taking my standard base strip from stock and assembling on it a plane strip-like top section of the specified thickness and material, I refer to the top section as strip-like because it may not always be a true strip, being in some instances so thick as to constitute a bar rather than a strip.

The two sections of the strip may be secured together in any suitable manner as by welding, punched lugs or fingers, solid rivets, or hollow rivets. I have found, however, that hollow rivets are particularly well suited to commercial production. The punching of lugs or fingers, welding, and the setting of solid rivets is difficult to perform commercially without setting up strains which produce distortion of the strip. However, hollow rivets are easily set with a gradually applied force so that they draw the parts together gradually without producing distortion of the strip. And when set they hold the parts together firmly and securely. Thus, I preferably use hollow rivets, but of course the rivets need not be hollow clear through as it is enough that the set end of the rivet be hollow prior to the setting operation. I use expressions such as initially hollow ended rivets to include rivets having a hole clear through and rivets having only the setting end hollow prior to the setting operation.

The present invention may, of course, be embodied in forms other than those particularly disclosed. The specific disclosures are merely illustrative in compliance with the patent statutes and are not to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a dividing strip: a lower section comprising a strip of sheet metal of single thickness having longitudinally spaced cut-out areas which extend downwardly from the top edge of the section and are spaced along the strip by a distance which is large as compared to their length along the strip, the cut-out metal being formed into separate wings which extend laterally from one side only of the section; and an upper strip-like section having an unfianged and unsevered lower edge, the upper section being positioned in overlapping relation to the lower section with its lower edge adjacent the top surfaces of said wings; the two sections being secured together in face-to-face contact at overlapping vertical portions thereof and below the upper edge of the lower section.

2. In a dividing strip: a plane strip-like upper section having an unfianged and unsevered lower edge; and a lower section comprising a strip of sheet material the upper part of which is formed with longitudinally spaced upwardly extending portions which are unfianged and each of which extends along the strip for a distance which is large relative to the intervening space, there being separate laterally extending wings positioned between said upwardly extending portions; the

upper and lower sections being assembled with the upper surfaces of said wings adjacent the lower edge of the upper section and with said upwardly extending portions lapped over the upper section in face-to-face contact therewith, said upwardly extending portions being secured to the upper section below the tops of the upwardly extending portions.

3. A dividing strip comprising: upper and lower sections; the lower section consisting of a plane single thickness strip of metal with anchoring means struck out and projecting therefrom, the upper edge of the lower section being unfianged; and the upper section consisting of a plane striplike piece of material having an unflanged and unsevered lower edge, the upper section being lapped over the lower section in vertical face-toface contact therewith and with its lower edge positioned by said anchoring means; and inserted rivets passing through overlapping vertical portions of said sections and permanently securing them together, said rivets being initially hollow ended.

4. A dividing strip' comprising: upper and lower sections, the lower section consisting of a relatively thin plane strip of metal of single thickness with anchoring means struck out and projecting therefrom, the upper edge of the lower section being unfianged and the major portion of it being intact, and the upper section consisting of a relatively thick strip-like piece of material lapped over the lower section in vertical face-to-face contact therewith and with its lower edge positioned by said anchoring means, the lower edge of the upper section being unfianged and unsevered; and means securing the sections together at overlapping vertical portions thereof below the upper edge of. the lower section.

5. A dividing strip comprising: upper and lower sections, the lower section consisting of a relatively thin plane strip of metal of single thickness with a plurality of separate single thickness anchoring wings struck out and projecting laterally therefrom, the wings having a length along the strip which is small relative to the intervening space, and the upper section consisting of a relatively thick strip-like piece of material lapped over the lower section in vertical face-to-face contact therewith and with its lower edge positioned by said wings, the lower edge of the upper section being unflanged and unsevered; and means located beneath the upper edge of the lower section and securing the sections together at overlapping vertical portions thereof.

HARRY L. FINK. 

